The Colonel（上校） asked Ashenden a good many questions and then suggested that he had particular qualifications for the Secret Service. Ashenden knew several European languages and the fact that he was a writer provided excellent cover: on the pretext（借口） that he was writing a book he could, without attracting attention, visit any neutral country.

    It was while they were discussing this point that the Colonel said, "You know you might get material that would be very useful to you in your work. I'll tell you an incident that occurred only recently. Very dramatic. A foreign government minister went down to a Mediterranean resort to recover from a cold and he had some very important documents with him that he kept in a dispatch case（公文箱）. A day or two after he arrived, he picked up a beautiful blonde at some restaurant or other, and he got very friendly with her . He took her back to his hotel, and when he came to himself in the morning, the lady and the dispatch-case had disappeared. They had one or two drinks up in his room and his theory is that when his back was turned the woman slipped a drug in his glass.

    "Do you mean to say that happened the other day?" said Ashenden.

    "The week before last ."

    "Impossible," cried Ashenden. "Why! We've been putting that incident on the stage for sixty years, we've written it in a thousand novels. Do you mean to say that life has only just caught up with us?"

    "Well, I can guarantee the truth of the story." said the Colonel, "And believe me, the government has been put to no end of trouble by the loss of the documents."

    "Well sir, if you can't do better than that in the Secret Service," sighed Ashenden, " I'm afraid that as a source of inspiration to the writer of fiction, it's washout（失败）."

    Food festivals around the world

    Stilton Cheese Rolling

    May Day is a traditional day for celebrations,but the 2,000 English villagers of Stilton must be the only people in the world who include cheese rolling in their annual plans.Teams of four,dressed in a variety of strange and funny clothes,roll a complete cheese along a 50-metre course.On the way,they must not lack or throw their cheese,or go into their competitors' lane.Competition is fierce and the chief prize is a complete Stilton cheese weighing about four kilos (disappointingly,but understandably the cheeses used in the race are wooden ones).All the competitors are served with beer or port wine,the traditional accompaniment for Stilton cheese.

    Fiery Foods Festival—The Hottest Festival on Earth

    Every year more than 10,000 people head for the city of Albuquerque,New Mexico.They come from as far away as Australia,the Caribbean and China,but they all share a common addiction—food that is not just spicy,but hot enough to make your mouth bum,your head spin and your eyes water.Their destination is the Fiery Food and BBQ Festival which is held over a period of three days every March.You might like to try a chocolate-covered habanero pepper—officially the hottest pepper in the world—or any one of the thousands of products that are on show.But one thing's for sure—if you don't like the feeling of a burning tongue,this festival isn't for you!

    La Tomatina—The World's Biggest Food Fight

    On the last Wednesday of every August,the Spanish town of Bunol hosts La Tomatina—the world's largest food fight.A week-long celebration leads up to an exciting tomato battle as the highlight of the week's events.The early morning sees the arrival of large trucks with tomatoes—official fight-starters get things going by casting tomatoes at the crowd.

    The battle lasts little more than half an hour,in which time around 50,000 kilograms of tomatoes have been thrown at anyone or anything that moves,runs,or fights back.Then everyone heads down to the river to make friends again—and fora much-needed wash!

    When the dog named Judy spotted the first sheep in her life, she did what comes naturally. The four-year-old dog set off racing after the sheep across several fields and, being a city animal, lost both her sheep and her sense of direction. Then she ran along the edge of cliff( 悬崖) and fell 100 feet, bouncing off a rock into the sea.

    Her owner Mike Holden panicked and celled the coastguard of Cornwall, who turned up in seconds. Six volunteers slid down the cliff with the help of a rope but gave up all hope of finding her alive after a 90-minute search.

    Three days later, a hurricane hit the coast near Cornwall. Mr. Holden returned home from his holiday upset and convinced his pet was dead. He comforted himself with the thought she had died in the most beautiful part of the country.

    For the next two weeks, the Holdens were heartbroken. Then, one day, the phone rang and Steve Tregear, the coastguard of Cornwall, asked Holder if he would like his dog bark.

    A birdwatcher, armed with a telescope, found the pet sitting desperately on a rock. While he sounded the alarm, a student from Leeds climbed down the cliff to collect Judy.

    The dog had initially been knocked unconscious(失去知觉的)but had survived by drinking water from a fresh scream at the base of the cliff. She may have fed on the body of a sheep which had also fallen over the edge. “The dog was very thin and hungry,” Steve Tregear said, “It was a very dog. She survived because of a plentiful supply of fresh water,” he added.

    It was, as Mr. Holden admitted, “a minor miracle(奇迹)”.

A Guide to the University

    Food

    The TWU Cafeteria is open 7am to 8pm. It serves snacks, drinks, ice cream bars and meals. You can pay with cash or your ID cards. You can add meal money to your ID cards at the Front Desk. Even if you do not buy your food in the cafeteria, you can use the tables to eat your lunch, to have meetings and to study.

    If you are on campus in the evening or late at night, you can buy snacks, fast food, and drinks in the Lower Café located in the bottom level of the Gouglas Centre. This area is often used for entertainment such as concerts, games or TV watching.

Relaxation

    The Globe, located in the bottom level of McMillan Hall, is available for relaxing, studying, cooking, and eating. Monthly activities are held here for all international students. Hours are 10 am to 10 pm, closed on Sundays.

Health

    Located on the top floor of Douglas Hall, the Wellness Centre is committed to physical, emotional and social health. A doctor and nurse is available if you have health questions or need immediate medical help or personal advice. The cost of this is included in your medical insurance. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to noon and 1:00 to 4:30pm.

Academic Support

    All students have access to the Writing Centre on the upper floor of Douglas Hall. Here, qualified volunteers will work with you on written work, grammar, vocabulary, and other academic skills. You can sign up for an appointment on the sign-up sheet outside the door two 30 –minute appointments per week maximum. This service is free.

Transportation

    The TWU Express is a shuttle service. The shuttle transports students between campus and the shopping centre, leaving from the Mattson Centre. Operation hours are between 8am and 3pm. Saturdays only. Round trip fare is $1.

    I felt excited, curious and nervous at the same time. I was excited because I would be skipping（跳级）two grades. I was curious because I didn't know how high school students were taught.

    However, I was most nervous at the idea that I would be doing high school homework. I had just walked into the class when the bell rang. This wasn't a good start. But the kid in front of me looked very friendly. Luckily, since it was the first day of school, my teacher talked for about half of the period and we just had the rest of the period to start the class. I didn't know what he was saying at first, but when I saw the problems on the paper, I knew what to do. The next day, the kid said hi and I said hi back. We got into a conversation. It seemed that whenever I was talking to my friend, everyone stopped staring at me. Then the class started. It was easy. But I was still uncomfortable because I couldn't look around without meeting others' eyes, so I just kept my eyes on the whiteboard and on my textbook. However, my friend didn't show up the next day, and the eighth graders just kept on staring at me. I didn't know why.

    The next day everything changed. My friend was back to school. I was praised for my homework. Everyone stared at me less. Some started to be a little friendlier towards me. I felt at home at last here. My teachers also seemed pretty nice.

Earth's next superpower

The following countries have been sitting on hidden talents. And now they're about to fly.

NIGERIA (尼日利亚)

Nigeria says it pumps out as much oil as the other two oil-producing countries, Kuwait and Iraq. All this oil is cycling cash into the Nigerian economy and creating extremely rich businessmen. Analysts say that if Nigeria can improve its schools and technology, it could balloon into the world's 13th largest economy by 2050, right between Turkey and Italy. If that reason is not enough for optimism, Nigeria's president also has the sunniest name of any world leader: Goodluck Jonathan.

VIETNAM

As agriculture has given way to industry, unemployment in Vietnam has dropped. What's Vietnam's trick? It's ready to work. Other countries' laborers aren't as cheap as they used to be, which makes Vietnam a relative bargain for companies that need new factories abroad. However, the country has almost no railroads, its highways are in poor condition, and its largest city has just one airport, which was built before the Vietnam War. So what's the use of producing export-ready goods if there's no convenient way to ship them? The good thing is that, however, officials are widening highways, building a new airport and so on.

CHILE (智利)

Pipes, computers, motors, and your microwave all have one thing in common: They're made with copper (铜). Copper makes the world go round. And luckily for Chile, it's got about a third of the planet's copper supply. It just needs a way to dig it up and the government is pouring money into the country's mines.